Men's baseball league keeps former players in the game

Saturday

Apr 27, 2013 at 8:53 PM

Teams in the Coastal Men's Baseball League play a 10-game schedule from April to late July.

By Chuck CarreeChuck.Carree@StarNewsOnline.com

The local Coastal Men's Baseball League is only four years old but has already become a desired outlet to help many former players, including UNCW's Jonathan Batts, Alex Hill and Chris Coughlin, stay involved in the sport.Batts, who graduated in 2007 as the Seahawks' all-time RBI leader, is league president.Sanctioned by Men's Senior Baseball League and Men's Amateur Baseball League, the seven-team group includes a squad from Myrtle Beach and has age divisions 18-30, 31-44 and 45 and over. Teams play a 10-game schedule from April to late July. The early finish is by design. Batts noticed interest seems to wane in August when school resumes and with the start of the NFL season in September.“It is a fun league, yet it is competitive at the same time,'' Batts said.According to Batts, the league may change its format next year and participate strictly in tournaments instead of a weekly team schedule.Batts, who starred at Topsail High School and was taken in the Major League Baseball Draft as a catcher his junior season with the Seahawks, plays on the Stingrays with Hill and Coughlin.Hill, an outfielder, played for UNCW from 2008-11.Coughlin, a right-handed pitcher, started 44 games for the Seahawks between 1999-2003 and ranks eighth in career strikeouts with 231. He also pitched three seasons in the Kansas City Royals farm system and tossed a no-hitter in 2004 in the Midwest League.Although two games into this season, Batts said new players and teams are still welcome.Batts can be reached at info@coastalmensbaseball.com. More information also is available at coastalmensbaseball.com.